Welcome to NTTAC Conversation Corner, an engaging podcast series where members of our team sit down with experts from the mental health field to discuss innovative approaches and strategies for advancing children’s mental health. Each episode features candid conversations about serving children and families, exploring both the successes and the challenges faced in the field. Our discussions are deeply rooted in the System of Care (SOC framework), emphasizing the importance of a coordinated and family-driven children’s mental health system of services and support
mall Changes, Big Impact: Reimagining Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care
Youth mental health concerns are rising — and primary care providers are often the first line of support. In this episode, we explore how small, meaningful changes in everyday practice can make a real difference. Joining Dr. Ruth Gubernick in conversation are Drs. Deborah Braun-Corville and Aimee Johnson as they share how they introduced strengths-based conversations, collaborative safety plans, and practical mental health supports right in their pediatric offices — without overwhelming workflows or adding hours to the day.
This conversation highlights:
How small tests of change can transform care over time
Strength-based approaches that build trust and connection
Practical, realistic tools for supporting adolescents in distress
The power of teamwork and shared learning among providers
This episode is a reminder that care doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful — sometimes, it starts with just one small step with the next patient you see.
21 Nov 2025
Start with Trust: Shared Decision Making in Children’s Mental Health
Shared decision making is more than offering choices — it’s about trust, partnership, and seeing families as the experts of their own lives. In this heartfelt conversation, two mothers and family partners, Sarah Farmer and Amy Rachel, share what it looks like when care feels supportive… and what happens when it doesn’t. Their stories highlight how trauma exposure, communication, and respect shape every moment of care.
Together, we explore:
How to build trust long before a crisis occurs
The role of strength-based conversations in mental health care
Why asking “What’s strong?” can be more powerful than asking “What’s wrong?”
How pediatricians and families can work as a team, even in emotionally charged moments
This episode is a reminder that compassion isn’t extra — it’s essential. And that the most transformative care begins not with instructions, but with listening.
7 Jul 2025
What About Me? Supporting Staff Mental and Emotional Wellness
Atsie Sanchez and Jenna Cataleta join host Lisa Knight in an interview discussing practical ideas to support staff mental and emotional well-being, ultimately strengthening the entire system.
27 Jun 2025
Connect Before We Correct: Part 2
Dr. Dionne Coker-Appiah and Angie Williams examine how rural communities foster change using trust and advocacy, offering strategies for building connections and serving with compassion in this interview.
27 Jun 2025
Connect Before We Correct: Part 1
Angie Williams and Dr. Dionne Coker-Appiah discuss the stigma surrounding mental health in rural communities, emphasizing the importance of connection over immediate solutions in this interview.
20 Jun 2025
Spirituality in Practice: Honoring the Whole Person
Gabriela Zapata-Alma discusses with Kristi Silva the integration of spirituality into mental health practices, emphasizing the importance of honoring an individual's complete experience and spiritual identity in healing; this is an interview.
9 May 2025
Beyond the Checkbox: Building Responsive School-Based Systems of Care
In this powerful episode of Conversation Corner, Dr. Sebrina Lindsay-Law joins host Melissa Smith for a heartfelt and thought-provoking conversation about school-based systems of care. Together, they explore how education, health, and justice systems can align to better support the mental health of children, youth, and families. Dr. Lindsay-Law offers a refreshing perspective on using both qualitative and quantitative data meaningfully—moving beyond transactional actions to build truly transformational practices. With real-life examples, practical insights, and a call for humanity, flexibility, and intentionality, this episode inspires us to reimagine what’s possible when care is at the center.
Special Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to Steven Jimenez, Director, and Ashley Singleton, Producer, for their leadership and creativity on Conversation Corner. Their work helps inspire new ideas and strengthen the path forward for child, youth, and family mental health — one conversation, one connection at a time.
17 Dec 2024
Breaking the Cycle: Communities Combating Adverse Childhood Experiences
NTTAC Director, Dr. Deborah Riddick, discusses how communities can break the cycle of Adverse Childhood Experiences and foster healing and resilience through collective action.
10 Sept 2024
Beyond Labels: Straying from the ‘Path’ in Youth Mental Health
Let’s shift the paradigm! In this episode, two youth advocates with lived experience, Shayn McDonald (they/them) and Maxx LaBrie (they/he), shed light on the limitations of psychiatric labels in honoring the complex tapestry of young people's lives, and explore the power of shifting to intentional, person-first, human experience language. Discover the importance and foundations of human experience language as we seek to amplify the voices of young people and challenge you to think differently about the human experience. This episode is a call to action for those dedicated to supporting youth to challenge convention and to embrace the stories and narratives of young people in their words.
Shifting from Pathologizing to Person-First Language pdf
5 Aug 2024
Expanding Horizons: The Evolving Role of Libraries
In this episode, Elizabeth Waetzig from the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health, sits down with Emily Drabinski, the current President of the American Library Association and an Associate Professor at Queens College, City University of New York. They explore the expansive role of libraries in communities, moving beyond traditional book lending to discuss how libraries serve as vital hubs for information, learning, and family support. Tune in to discover how you can support your local library in enriching children's education, supporting youth development, and strengthening family bonds. This inspiring conversation will reveal the transformative power of libraries and motivate you to identify ways you can partner with local libraries in a comprehensive and equitable system of care for children, youth, and families.
Who has been a guest on NTTAC Conversation Corner
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Atsie Sanchez
Jenna Cataleta
Dr Dionne Coker-Appiah
Angie Williams
Gabriela Zapata-Alma
Podcast Authority Score: 9 / 100
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17
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YouTube
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Engagement
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